Cheng Chin
Department of Physics, University of Chicago, USA
Date
19 March 2014
Host
Tilman Esslinger
Title
From Cosmology to Cold Atoms: Sakharov Acoustic Oscillations
Abstract
Sakharov acoustic oscillation, conventionally discussed in the context of early universe evolution and the anisotropy of cosmic microwave background radiation, is the manifestation of interfering acoustic waves generated in an ideal fluid. We report a laboratory simulation of Sakharov oscillations in an atomic superfluid by quenching the the interactions between atoms and monitoring the subsequent density fluctuations. Sakharov oscillations are identified as the multi-peak structure in the density fluctuations, resembling that of the cosmic microwave background radiation. From the Sakharov oscillations, we determine the sonic horizon, providing new perspectives to extend quantum simulation to other intriguing cosmological and gravitational phenomena.